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Who Dat?

Check out this great short video about New Orleans and the Saints from one of Crossroads' college students, Craig Turner!

Desensitized

I went and saw "Book of Eli" today. Personally, I'd give it a 7-out-of-10. I actually want to go see it again now that I know what's going to happen. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

It's bloody. There are some intense fight scenes. Denzel Washington's character (Eli) is basically indestructible.

There is no sex or major nudity (girl in a nightgown, girl in a makeshift-top showing cleavage, and a guy with his shirt off).

Ever since I walked out of the movie, I've been trying to figure out what was feeling strange to me, and then it hit me...

I was thinking of writing a review for this movie. I started putting the first draft of the review together in my head when, all of a sudden, I heard myself say, "If you can get past the blood and gore and foul language, then I would definitely recommend it, especially since there's no sex."

How bad is it for me to say, "Oh, it's just blood and gore and death and killing and cussing. No big deal!"

For some reason, that just doesn't sit well with me.

Thoughts from Holland, MI

For the past ten days, I have been trudging through almost two feet of snow for one mile twice daily (follow that?). I spent half of my childhood in central Indiana, so I am very accustomed to snow. But even after ten days of it, I am ready to leave it. It's great to visit.

During the trudging, I have had a good deal of time to think and reflect on many topics. I decided when I got here that I would carry a journal with me and begin the practice of writing down ideas, sayings, thoughts, and conversations that catch my attention. As I was reading over the things that I have already written down, I figured that this would be a great place to share some. So here we go:

• God is not at the forefront of my mind regularly. He should be. He needs to be. My struggle is that I'll get into "Caleb-mode". For example, I will have a planning meeting for something, and instead of thinking of God and His mission, I think of my desires and what I think the mission should be. Many times when I go to sporting events at the local schools, I will inevitably go in with the mindset of "this is my job"/"this is what I need to be doing". Instead, I need to walk in thinking and praying, "God, lead me into conversations with people and show me how to show them You."
• One of the classic "salvation" questions has been, "If you die tonight, what would happen to you?" I'm beginning to think that question is faulty. Instead, I think the question should be, "If you wake up tomorrow, who will you follow?" The previous incorrect phrasing puts the focus of salvation on the end result. It makes "being saved" as a ticket to not "burning in hell." But isn't following Jesus about life today? Isn't the real question about who or what one will follow every moment through the day? Because if I place my computer over God, then my priorities are out of place. If I place my kids over God, then my priorities are out of place. If I place my Wii over God, then my priorities are out of place. Shouldn't our concern be who/what we follow, and not where we're going to end up?
• Over the course of a two-hour class here at seminary, a classmate ate an entire container of Altoids. I wonder if he was trying to help his intestines smell better.
• Just a thought to ponder: Christianity is not simply learning about the incarnation of Jesus. It's taking on and living out the incarnation of Jesus.

If you have thoughts that you would like to respond with, please do. Would love to have conversations with anyone and everyone about these things.

Church's Primary role

Most of us would probably choose more than one. But, if you had to choose, which would it be and why?

The church is primarily about:

• saving individual souls
• defending the truth
• making the world a better place/helping people live better lives
• being a signpost of the reign of God
• offering a glimpse of heaven
• being filled with the Holy Spirit
  

Crazy Love

Starting in February, our youth will be challenged to be involved in a group that will meet twice a month, memorize Scripture, do some homework, and read through a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. More information will come about this group. Over the next weeks, please pray with your youth about their involvement with this group. For those that are actively involved and complete the assignments and the book, there will be a reward trip.

For now, check out this website for more info on the book and read a sample chapter.

Tim Hawkins

Friday evening, 30 youth and volunteers will be heading to First Bossier for an evening with Tim Hawkins. If you have never heard Tim, you are definitely missing out. Check out this short video. Then go to his website here and watch many more clips.

New Skillet video - Hero

Check out this awesome new music video from Skillet. This is "Hero" off of their new album "Awake". I have it in my office if anyone wants to borrow it!

schedule updates

Okay, so in an attempt to get out all of our information about activities and happenings between now and Christmas, this post will be solely dedicated to that end. Also, please note the calendar at the bottom of this page, as it has been updated.

Dec 4-6

We will be joining with Christ Community for a youth conference. There will be a speaker, a band, service opportunities, lots of games, and lots of food. Cost is $40. If anyone knows they will have trouble paying for it, please tell me. That is not a good reason for not attending because there are LOTS of people in our church who have given scholarship money. The students will be staying Friday and Saturday nights in homes. Still working on which homes those will be. It will start at Christ Community on Friday, December 4th at 5:30pm and end on Sunday morning, December 6th. Crossroads students who attend the conference will arrive back at Crossroads on Sunday morning at 10:45am for worship. Please reply ASAP!

Dec 12

We will head to the Community Soup kitchen in Monroe. We'll meet at Crossroads at 9:15am, serve at the kitchen, go have lunch together, and return to Crossroads around 1:30 or 2. Each student will need to bring $5 for lunch. Also, the kitchen runs on donations. So, we are asking each family to scour their home for canned goods, toiletries, and clothes that are available for donation.

Dec 13

Shane & Shane, Phil Wickham, and Bethany Dillon will be in concert at Howard Auditorium (on Tech's campus). Show starts at 7:30. I think everyone just pays $10 at the door. We will NOT have Student Life this night because of the concert. More details about meeting up and heading to the concert as the date gets closer.

Dec 18

Tim Hawkins LIVE at First Baptist Bossier. Tickets are $10. Bring money for dinner, too. Parents, if you need to know who Tim Hawkins is before saying your student can go, check out www.timhawkins.net.

Dec 3, 10, and 17

We have a 3-week community group study this December. Our focus will be "Living Like Jesus". Guys meet at 507 (I think?) Homer St. Girls meet at 1109 Carey Ave. Groups meet from 7-8:30. Bring yourself and your Bible!

The Great Escape 2010

The Great Escape from Youth Conference Ministries on Vimeo.

6th-8th grade students and their parents, check out this video for what we will be participating in this coming summer! And watch the whole thing, because there is someone towards the end that you will recognize.

A thought on missions

"There is no participation in Christ without participation in his mission to the world."

- Willingen Conference of the International Missionary Council

Missions have been enterprises that belonged to the exterior of church life. They were carried on somewhere else - in Asia, Africa, or the South Pacific, in the slums of the city, or among the gypsies, the vagrants, the marginal people... The church has approved of "missions" but has not been the mission.

- "The Open Secret", Lesslie Newbigin

What do you think? If we are not participating in mission to the world, does that have an effect on our belonging to Christ? And have we allowed for our churches here in America to push missions away? We feel good about throwing money at missions, but we would never do anything on our own to participate in missions.

Your thoughts?

Worship and Theology

Some people say you don't need theology in order to worship. Some say you can't worship without knowing theology. How do you react to these points?

• It is Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that makes possible the sending of the Spirit who, in uniting us to the Son, draws us into God's triune life and enables us to worship in spirit and in truth.
• We worship what we know. If our knowledge is not deep, our worship won't be either.
• Worship has a cognitive dimension: what we are to know, and thus to worship, is who God is and what God has done.
• What we have come to understand in life we should come to celebrate corporately. The meaning of Christian life comes to focus in worship as nowhere else.
• Theology is not only the study of God, but a means for improving our worship. Conversely, worship is not only the praise of god, but a means for improving our theology.
• Our worship is the index to how well we have understood our faith.
• The worth-ship of our worship is a function of how deeply we perceive God's worth. In true worship the Spirit relates us to the Son, the truth of God, enabling our worship to correspond to who God is.

- Kevin Vanhoozer
Professor of Theology
Wheaton College Grad School

If I told you I knew of a popular Christian rock band that gets drunk every now and then, how would you react? What would you think about that band?

MLS Top 10 Goals Of The Year - ESPN Video

Mayne Event: Peyton's Language - ESPN Video

Where The Wild Things Are

Hey yall. Let's go see "Where the Wild Things Are" this Saturday. Let's meet at the theater at 11:15am. Showtime is 11:45am.

Click here for a review.

I'M PUMPED!!

Piano Stairs

10 riskiest foods to eat

Came across this list of the 10 riskiest foods to eat. Just thought it was interesting and worth sharing. And (as you will see), since my eldest son does not like to eat lettuce (or any vegetables for that matter), I'm not as concerned anymore.

It's 6am...

Tucker decided to wake up REALLY early, so I figured what better time than now to write a movie review!

So, I went and saw Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself". Actually, I didn't go see it on my own accord. I was coerced into seeing a movie, and only after I found myself in the car with these friends did I learn of which movie we were going to watch.

If you don't know who Tyler Perry is, allow me to give the very little info I know of him to set the stage for my opinion of his latest movie. He's made some movies. He has a TV show. And he owns his own studio set in Atlanta. Don't you feel like you know him so well now?

The other major piece of information about Tyler Perry is that he has made his fortune by portraying middle class black America in humorous ways. For me, I have never watched his TV show (I think it's on TBS). And this is the first Tyler Perry movie I have ever seen. So this review is coming from a well-informed person.

So I'm working on vulnerability in my life. Hopefully I can achieve some level of that here. If this movie is a good representation of how all of Perry's stuff is, I will not be seeking them out. For me, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" was way too predictable, poorly written, disjointed, too musical, and just all together bad. As the Boston Globe said, "Tyler Perry can do bad all by himself, too."

There were definite laughing spots in the movie. The characters of Madea and her husband (both played by Perry) are hilarious. But it seemed to me that the reason why they were in this movie was to guarantee that fans of Madea (who has appeared in most of Perry's other movies) would come and see this one. Madea and her husband had roles in this movie that, quite honestly, didn't need to be there. It almost made it seem like Perry was writing two separate movies, couldn't figure out an ending to one or a beginning to the other, and then slapped them together.

Another major negative I had with the movie is how much performed music was in it. I felt like I was watching a musical. I have nothing against musicals. I love "The Sound of Music", "The Music Man", and "Guys and Dolls", but I didn't pay to see a musical. Again, it seemed like all of the music was thrown in there to fill time and space.

Yes, there were great themes of love, second chances, and forgiveness, but they were completely clouded over by the poor writing and plot design.

So I guess if you like all the stuff I didn't, then go see it and enjoy!

"America" by McDonalds

This picture shows the contiguous 48 states as represented by the distance from one McDonalds to the next. See if you can figure out what major cities are located where. Have fun!